It was just as uneventful day as every other before it at the sentry post on the northern border of the previous Enjin Kingdom. The handful of soldiers here barely saw any action through their years, which was one of the main points that drew the volunteers to this position. Receiving double the pay as their comrades on the front lines yet doing nothing more than sitting up on the lookout, doing two-man shifts, and changing every four hours. It was the easiest job possible. Of course, if they would spot a beast tide, they would be helpless to defend against it and could only do their real purpose. Warn the rest of the Kingdom so they could prepare the army to resist the monsters. Yet, there was no real tide for more than a hundred years, and people considered this job the easiest and most relaxing part of the army.
Usually, the Enjin Kingdom was the one tasked to guard the Kingdom of Ten's most northern part, but since their fall, it was Frode's Nervadask Kingdom's duty to fill the posts with their own men. He placed here either aging veterans, not fit for frontline duty anymore, or young yet hopeless boys who showed no real talent. Still, nobody complained as it would be a dream come true to earn a lifetime's worth of pay doing nothing. Especially considering the hierarchy in Nervadask, where men had absolute rule over everything else, including women. It was a Kingdom where the 'rank' or 'worth' of a man relied upon their military achievements and the amount of money they had amassed while serving. Right now, up in the wooden tower, built atop a small, hexagonal-shaped stone fort, two young men were sitting, 'watching' the northern forest for any clues at a possible beast tide. Before them, for a hundred meter straight, the forest was cut down and cleared as their place sat atop an 80-meter-high hill, making their view as clear as possible.
"Did you hear?" one of the boys, maybe at the age of 17 or 18, asked, leaning on the railings of their watchtower, smoking a freshly rolled cigarette. "There is talk that the City of Rozex was destroyed!"
"Yeah, I did! The rumor came straight from the top, no?" his comrade nodded, taking out his own cigarette and lighting it up, looking to be the same age. He wore the same rounded, metal helmet and an old hemp armor decorated with some leather strips. Both of their crossbows were next to their feet, and the last time they were used was at the weekly practice competition held inside the fort amongst the other sentries stationed there.
"They say it was destroyed by someone from the Immortal Wonders Sect! A girl nonetheless!" He replied with a roll of his eyes.
"Oh? Did they attack?" his partner asked surprisedly, blowing smoke from his nostrils. "We are already at war with two kingdoms. Do we really need another enemy, especially something like them? Like the Empire?"
"I heard the captain talk about it; he said that is impossible to be true. Rozex is… Rozex! That city was never conquered since it was established! Never! Something is going on that we are not told about! Same with the war against the Astrans and Lotharinians. We are on bad terms with the Elroths, but the other two? And now we are at war?"
"What is so strange about it? They betrayed the alliance!"
"Damn, use your head a little! I get it. The Enjins were in cahoots with Rudrick and planned to overthrow… you know who." He murmured, not confident enough to say Zelig's name as there were countless rumors about how he could feel if he was just mentioned and whatnot.
"And they deserved what they got!"
"Damn it, Malfred!" He slapped the back of his comrade's head. "If the Enjins got uprooted and their royal family extinguished, why was there no punishment for the…." He looked around nervously, whispering in a barely audible voice, "for the Naulins? Something is fishy, I say! Everyone else gets their families eradicated, their soldiers conscripted to the frontline, used as meat shields… then we replace them here! Now the home city of another traitor, the Kingdom of the Naulins, get obliterated? Said it was done by those other Sect people? Fuck man… I feel nobody sees the connections here but me!" he grumbled, breathing out the smoke from his cigarette.
"What connections? What are you on about again? Did you stuff your cig with something extra? Because if so, give me a huff too, you cheapskate!"
"No, idiot! I'm trying to say to you that people in power are making some moves, and we are going to be the ones who will get the short end of the stick!" he groaned, throwing away his cigarette. "We can just as easily be replaced as the ones before us! And it makes me fucking nervous!"
"Dude, you should chill out a little more…! Rub one out while the others are sleeping or something! We missed being deployed to the front lines! Having a nice backline duty and earning mad cash is the luckiest shit ever! Think about what we are going to do in 15 years! We can even afford two wives to be brought back home when we are let go! Finally, our Nervadask Kingdom is on the rise! Did you see how cute the Enjin women are? I will buy one for home as soon as I am let off!"
"..."
"Hey… do you listen to me?" Malfred asked in an annoyed tone as his comrade's voice suddenly was cut off. He was just standing next to him with an open mouth and enlarged eyes. Following where he was looking, soon Malfred's voice also died off, even forgetting to breathe because what he was seeing was a group of six wolves appearing in the clearing, each of them towering over 10 meters. Especially the white one in the middle. From the wolves' perspective, the fortress atop the hill was nothing more than prey that could not run nor hide. The one in the middle was none other than Kago, now leading his own team, watching the humans atop the watchtower, seeing their expressions change even from that distance.
"We need to finish fast!" Kago ordered sternly, "Do not dally and leave none alive!" He howled loudly towards the sky. From nowhere, following his loud voice, a cold, thick fog descended on the area, completely blinding the humans in the fortress. Previously it was a warm, sunny day, yet now they could see their own breath. The chilling air was clawing at their bone marrows, descending on them from nowhere.
"What is going on?!" Malfred panicked, and suddenly, he saw a black shadow whizz by, coming from a distance. "Huh?" he turned to his comrade, but he was missing a head, leaving only a standing corpse behind. It rhythmically spewed blood upwards, reaching even the ceiling of the watchtower to the beat of his heart before collapsing.
Malfred had no time to scream as his torso was already falling to the side, being cut into half alongside the rest of the wooden tower. They were killed with one swipe of a sword. The attacker, an utterly black wolf, was standing inside the middle of the fort, already transforming into his human form and holding a black-bladed nodachi in his hand. It was Shadow, who, for the past few months, was touring the demonic forest with Lacuss. He even visited the wolven tribes. When he and Chono met, the old wolf quickly realized what or, more precisely, who he was. A member of the dead lineage of the Moonwalkers. For Shadow, it meant not that much as since growing up, he considered himself a member of the Immortal Wonders Sect, but for Chono, it provided a kind of relief, knowing there is a young descendant. This had to mean there was a chance that some of them were still out there, only no longer possessing human-like sentience. As they were touring, they received the call from Rumira, and knowing a group of wolves was already rushing towards the south, Shadow joined them, lending a hand. He immediately formed a weird connection with Kago, competing since the first moment their eyes met, arguing over anything that happened yet still easily working together.
"That is two down," he whispered, letting out a long breath, masked by the thick fog that made them only see half a meter before them. Of course, this meant nothing to the wolves, as their ears and noses were the perfect guides.
"While you were killing them, posing as a warrior from the human fables, the rest of the group killed almost all of the remaining prey." Kago's provoking voice traveled into his ear.
"Hmf! I am learning the way of the sword! I can't abandon it to fight like a beast!"
"Suuuuure, that is why you rushed in your wolf form, transformed mid-air into your human form, brandished your blade, did two somersaults that nobody saw beside me, then turned back into a wolf, landing with a sword in the mouth. THEN you hurriedly turned back human again and posed for ten seconds straight! Damn, you are impressive! What is coming next? Are you going to wipe off the blood from the blade ceremoniously?"
"..." Shadow quickly stopped his hand as that was precisely what he was going for, but now he just swung it hard, shaking it off that way.
"Every one of you is like this in that Sect or what? Is this some kind of human thing you picked up?"
"Fuck you."
"You too! Mr. Cringe!”
“Both of you, shut it!" cut in a third voice belonging to Eisen. "We got a message from Kang. The threat has turned back, heading our way! We retreat, NOW!"
"..." Shadow remained silent, trying to look calm amidst the deep fog as he turned into his wolf form, rushing backward while Kago hurriedly replied.
"Yes! But… What are you doing here then?" He argued with a surprisingly worried voice.
"What? I am still the group leader, my little Red Rocket! I am obligated to be here and supervise you bunch of rascals!" She laughed loudly, drawing out chuckles from the other wolves as everyone heard them.
"Red Rocket? What kind of nickname is that?" Shadow asked with honest confusion but received a literal barking answer from Kago.
"None of your business!"
"Okay, Mr. Red Rocket."
"Fuck you!"
"You too!"
…
….
…..
Back in the thick forest, Kago landed before Eisen in his wolf form, shrinking to a quarter of his original size. He was walking around her, rubbing his face against her already bulging, exposed tummy, gently licking it.
"We agreed you would stay put until they are born!" Kago transmitted his thoughts toward her.
"And I did, no?" She rubbed his fur with a satisfied smile. "I did not come to the battle, only surveyed from far! Geez, you sound like a little bitch; easy there, boy! I know how to care for myself, even when I have occupants inside me!" Eisen grinned, placing her hand on her stomach. "Damn… I never thought you would be this potent. Or is it me?"
"Both," Kago answered, turning into his human form, with a proud smile plastered all over his face. "They are going to be strong, for sure. I can feel it!" He nodded, caressing her stomach.
"Hmmm, interesting." Shadow also arrived with the rest of the wolves, every one of them in their human forms. "I am curious as to how strong they are going to be. Back in the Sect, we have an elder of mixed race. His mother was a mermaid demon, and he has an especially strong affinity towards water!" he nodded heavily and proudly before throwing a sly grin toward Kago. "But if they are like their father, I am worried about their mental capacity."
"At least they are going to have some!" He barked back without looking.
"Two little kids…." Eisen shook her head with a smile, "Well, we will see when they are ready to come out!" she laughed, waving her hand. "For now, we move! We achieved what we were aiming for. They are scared and confused. Their leader is coming this way. It would be best not to be caught up with someone like him!" she smirked as she hopped onto the back of Kago, who immediately transformed back to his original size.
"What is our next move?" asked the white wolf while they rushed past the tree lines, leaving the nearby area.
"We regroup and form a correct army!" Eisen explained. "No more solo missions. We are going to follow orders from the top! We are going to war."
"Against the humans? Going to be easier than against the tigers!" some of the other wolves giggled.
"Do not underestimate them!" Kago warned him, snapping his head towards the smaller, brown-furred wolf, making Shadow nod in agreement.
"Still…" Eisen took a deep breath, gently stroking the head of Kago. "It won't be as brutal. Human bodies are more fragile, and most armies are not made up of strong fighters. The real battles are going to be when true cultivators meet other cultivators. I get a feeling this will change how wars are waged. Forever."
"You even sound a little disappointed." Shadow pointed it out, looking at her curiously.
"A little." Eisen nodded with a reminiscent look in her eyes. "I couldn't form a bandit group anymore like I did in the past. Even that is going to be changed from now on! Mine was wiped out by one person. One! I had a group of men, yet they were obliterated." She chuckled. "I was also almost done for. Well! Whatever! It is in the past!" She stretched, shrugging it off quickly.
"Why would you form a bandit group anyway?" Kago snorted with a little bit of annoyance in his voice. "You have us now, no?"
"Don't be jealous~" She stroked the base of his ears. "I'm satisfied with my changed life! You never know something until you try it out yourself; I always believed that! And I like the me I am right now. I really do!" she whispered with a delighted smile on her face.
It was just as uneventful day as every other before it at the sentry post on the northern border of the previous Enjin Kingdom. The handful of soldiers here barely saw any action through their years, which was one of the main points that drew the volunteers to this position. Receiving double the pay as their comrades on the front lines yet doing nothing more than sitting up on the lookout, doing two-man shifts, and changing every four hours. It was the easiest job possible. Of course, if they would spot a beast tide, they would be helpless to defend against it and could only do their real purpose. Warn the rest of the Kingdom so they could prepare the army to resist the monsters. Yet, there was no real tide for more than a hundred years, and people considered this job the easiest and most relaxing part of the army.
Usually, the Enjin Kingdom was the one tasked to guard the Kingdom of Ten's most northern part, but since their fall, it was Frode's Nervadask Kingdom's duty to fill the posts with their own men. He placed here either aging veterans, not fit for frontline duty anymore, or young yet hopeless boys who showed no real talent. Still, nobody complained as it would be a dream come true to earn a lifetime's worth of pay doing nothing. Especially considering the hierarchy in Nervadask, where men had absolute rule over everything else, including women. It was a Kingdom where the 'rank' or 'worth' of a man relied upon their military achievements and the amount of money they had amassed while serving. Right now, up in the wooden tower, built atop a small, hexagonal-shaped stone fort, two young men were sitting, 'watching' the northern forest for any clues at a possible beast tide. Before them, for a hundred meter straight, the forest was cut down and cleared as their place sat atop an 80-meter-high hill, making their view as clear as possible.
"Did you hear?" one of the boys, maybe at the age of 17 or 18, asked, leaning on the railings of their watchtower, smoking a freshly rolled cigarette. "There is talk that the City of Rozex was destroyed!"
"Yeah, I did! The rumor came straight from the top, no?" his comrade nodded, taking out his own cigarette and lighting it up, looking to be the same age. He wore the same rounded, metal helmet and an old hemp armor decorated with some leather strips. Both of their crossbows were next to their feet, and the last time they were used was at the weekly practice competition held inside the fort amongst the other sentries stationed there.
"They say it was destroyed by someone from the Immortal Wonders Sect! A girl nonetheless!" He replied with a roll of his eyes.
"Oh? Did they attack?" his partner asked surprisedly, blowing smoke from his nostrils. "We are already at war with two kingdoms. Do we really need another enemy, especially something like them? Like the Empire?"
"I heard the captain talk about it; he said that is impossible to be true. Rozex is… Rozex! That city was never conquered since it was established! Never! Something is going on that we are not told about! Same with the war against the Astrans and Lotharinians. We are on bad terms with the Elroths, but the other two? And now we are at war?"
"What is so strange about it? They betrayed the alliance!"
"Damn, use your head a little! I get it. The Enjins were in cahoots with Rudrick and planned to overthrow… you know who." He murmured, not confident enough to say Zelig's name as there were countless rumors about how he could feel if he was just mentioned and whatnot.
"And they deserved what they got!"
"Damn it, Malfred!" He slapped the back of his comrade's head. "If the Enjins got uprooted and their royal family extinguished, why was there no punishment for the…." He looked around nervously, whispering in a barely audible voice, "for the Naulins? Something is fishy, I say! Everyone else gets their families eradicated, their soldiers conscripted to the frontline, used as meat shields… then we replace them here! Now the home city of another traitor, the Kingdom of the Naulins, get obliterated? Said it was done by those other Sect people? Fuck man… I feel nobody sees the connections here but me!" he grumbled, breathing out the smoke from his cigarette.
"What connections? What are you on about again? Did you stuff your cig with something extra? Because if so, give me a huff too, you cheapskate!"
"No, idiot! I'm trying to say to you that people in power are making some moves, and we are going to be the ones who will get the short end of the stick!" he groaned, throwing away his cigarette. "We can just as easily be replaced as the ones before us! And it makes me fucking nervous!"
"Dude, you should chill out a little more…! Rub one out while the others are sleeping or something! We missed being deployed to the front lines! Having a nice backline duty and earning mad cash is the luckiest shit ever! Think about what we are going to do in 15 years! We can even afford two wives to be brought back home when we are let go! Finally, our Nervadask Kingdom is on the rise! Did you see how cute the Enjin women are? I will buy one for home as soon as I am let off!"
"..."
"Hey… do you listen to me?" Malfred asked in an annoyed tone as his comrade's voice suddenly was cut off. He was just standing next to him with an open mouth and enlarged eyes. Following where he was looking, soon Malfred's voice also died off, even forgetting to breathe because what he was seeing was a group of six wolves appearing in the clearing, each of them towering over 10 meters. Especially the white one in the middle. From the wolves' perspective, the fortress atop the hill was nothing more than prey that could not run nor hide. The one in the middle was none other than Kago, now leading his own team, watching the humans atop the watchtower, seeing their expressions change even from that distance.
"We need to finish fast!" Kago ordered sternly, "Do not dally and leave none alive!" He howled loudly towards the sky. From nowhere, following his loud voice, a cold, thick fog descended on the area, completely blinding the humans in the fortress. Previously it was a warm, sunny day, yet now they could see their own breath. The chilling air was clawing at their bone marrows, descending on them from nowhere.
"What is going on?!" Malfred panicked, and suddenly, he saw a black shadow whizz by, coming from a distance. "Huh?" he turned to his comrade, but he was missing a head, leaving only a standing corpse behind. It rhythmically spewed blood upwards, reaching even the ceiling of the watchtower to the beat of his heart before collapsing.
Malfred had no time to scream as his torso was already falling to the side, being cut into half alongside the rest of the wooden tower. They were killed with one swipe of a sword. The attacker, an utterly black wolf, was standing inside the middle of the fort, already transforming into his human form and holding a black-bladed nodachi in his hand. It was Shadow, who, for the past few months, was touring the demonic forest with Lacuss. He even visited the wolven tribes. When he and Chono met, the old wolf quickly realized what or, more precisely, who he was. A member of the dead lineage of the Moonwalkers. For Shadow, it meant not that much as since growing up, he considered himself a member of the Immortal Wonders Sect, but for Chono, it provided a kind of relief, knowing there is a young descendant. This had to mean there was a chance that some of them were still out there, only no longer possessing human-like sentience. As they were touring, they received the call from Rumira, and knowing a group of wolves was already rushing towards the south, Shadow joined them, lending a hand. He immediately formed a weird connection with Kago, competing since the first moment their eyes met, arguing over anything that happened yet still easily working together.
"That is two down," he whispered, letting out a long breath, masked by the thick fog that made them only see half a meter before them. Of course, this meant nothing to the wolves, as their ears and noses were the perfect guides.
"While you were killing them, posing as a warrior from the human fables, the rest of the group killed almost all of the remaining prey." Kago's provoking voice traveled into his ear.
"Hmf! I am learning the way of the sword! I can't abandon it to fight like a beast!"
"Suuuuure, that is why you rushed in your wolf form, transformed mid-air into your human form, brandished your blade, did two somersaults that nobody saw beside me, then turned back into a wolf, landing with a sword in the mouth. THEN you hurriedly turned back human again and posed for ten seconds straight! Damn, you are impressive! What is coming next? Are you going to wipe off the blood from the blade ceremoniously?"
"..." Shadow quickly stopped his hand as that was precisely what he was going for, but now he just swung it hard, shaking it off that way.
"Every one of you is like this in that Sect or what? Is this some kind of human thing you picked up?"
"Fuck you."
"You too! Mr. Cringe!”
“Both of you, shut it!" cut in a third voice belonging to Eisen. "We got a message from Kang. The threat has turned back, heading our way! We retreat, NOW!"
"..." Shadow remained silent, trying to look calm amidst the deep fog as he turned into his wolf form, rushing backward while Kago hurriedly replied.
"Yes! But… What are you doing here then?" He argued with a surprisingly worried voice.
"What? I am still the group leader, my little Red Rocket! I am obligated to be here and supervise you bunch of rascals!" She laughed loudly, drawing out chuckles from the other wolves as everyone heard them.
"Red Rocket? What kind of nickname is that?" Shadow asked with honest confusion but received a literal barking answer from Kago.
"None of your business!"
"Okay, Mr. Red Rocket."
"Fuck you!"
"You too!"
…
….
…..
Back in the thick forest, Kago landed before Eisen in his wolf form, shrinking to a quarter of his original size. He was walking around her, rubbing his face against her already bulging, exposed tummy, gently licking it.
"We agreed you would stay put until they are born!" Kago transmitted his thoughts toward her.
"And I did, no?" She rubbed his fur with a satisfied smile. "I did not come to the battle, only surveyed from far! Geez, you sound like a little bitch; easy there, boy! I know how to care for myself, even when I have occupants inside me!" Eisen grinned, placing her hand on her stomach. "Damn… I never thought you would be this potent. Or is it me?"
"Both," Kago answered, turning into his human form, with a proud smile plastered all over his face. "They are going to be strong, for sure. I can feel it!" He nodded, caressing her stomach.
"Hmmm, interesting." Shadow also arrived with the rest of the wolves, every one of them in their human forms. "I am curious as to how strong they are going to be. Back in the Sect, we have an elder of mixed race. His mother was a mermaid demon, and he has an especially strong affinity towards water!" he nodded heavily and proudly before throwing a sly grin toward Kago. "But if they are like their father, I am worried about their mental capacity."
"At least they are going to have some!" He barked back without looking.
"Two little kids…." Eisen shook her head with a smile, "Well, we will see when they are ready to come out!" she laughed, waving her hand. "For now, we move! We achieved what we were aiming for. They are scared and confused. Their leader is coming this way. It would be best not to be caught up with someone like him!" she smirked as she hopped onto the back of Kago, who immediately transformed back to his original size.
"What is our next move?" asked the white wolf while they rushed past the tree lines, leaving the nearby area.
"We regroup and form a correct army!" Eisen explained. "No more solo missions. We are going to follow orders from the top! We are going to war."
"Against the humans? Going to be easier than against the tigers!" some of the other wolves giggled.
"Do not underestimate them!" Kago warned him, snapping his head towards the smaller, brown-furred wolf, making Shadow nod in agreement.
"Still…" Eisen took a deep breath, gently stroking the head of Kago. "It won't be as brutal. Human bodies are more fragile, and most armies are not made up of strong fighters. The real battles are going to be when true cultivators meet other cultivators. I get a feeling this will change how wars are waged. Forever."
"You even sound a little disappointed." Shadow pointed it out, looking at her curiously.
"A little." Eisen nodded with a reminiscent look in her eyes. "I couldn't form a bandit group anymore like I did in the past. Even that is going to be changed from now on! Mine was wiped out by one person. One! I had a group of men, yet they were obliterated." She chuckled. "I was also almost done for. Well! Whatever! It is in the past!" She stretched, shrugging it off quickly.
"Why would you form a bandit group anyway?" Kago snorted with a little bit of annoyance in his voice. "You have us now, no?"
"Don't be jealous~" She stroked the base of his ears. "I'm satisfied with my changed life! You never know something until you try it out yourself; I always believed that! And I like the me I am right now. I really do!" she whispered with a delighted smile on her face.
